On Friday morning, the MCC attempted to forcibly gain entry into the Bloemfontein building in an effort to bring operations to a standstill, and make their grievances known. MCC member, Donald Constable, says they have in the last two weeks received numerous complaints about alleged maladministration, bullying and sexual harassment at the embattled facility. Constable says the allegations centre around senior managers.

The MCC member alleges the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sharon Snell currently occupies both the role of acting Pacofs CEO as well as that of the head of the National Museum in Bloemfontein. Now, the latter post is the one she occupied before being appointed as acting Pacofs CEO in April 2021, after her predecessor, Meshack Xaba, was demoted following a month-long sit-in by unhappy artists in the province who wanted him ousted. 

Constable further alleges that there are sexual harassment charges laid against a senior manager. But to date, he is not suspended from work and his alleged victims are uncomfortable around him. There is also the issue of outsiders being appointed in key positions at Pacofs and on the board.

At present, police have been called to the scene and are currently engaging MCC leadership to quell the tensions and address their concerns before any violence or damage occurs.

This incident comes not too long after OFM News reported that artists that staged a sit-in at Pacofs over March and April 2021 remain aggrieved nearly seven months since their demonstration. The Free State coordinator of the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa (Ccifsa), Mbuyiselo Nqodi, says that it is still more of the same, since Snell was appointed as Pacofs’ acting CEO in April 2021.

READ MORE: Pacofs still ‘more of the same’ – FS artists

Her controversial predecessor, Xaba, was removed from the top post but was retained in the artistic director position. Nqodi tells OFM News they are awaiting a report on the allegations levelled against Xaba that will reveal whether he will be completely sacked from the institution or not. 

Nqodi says the report needs to be presented to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts, and Culture before the artists can know the outcome of Xaba’s fate at Pacofs. 

Nearly seven months since Nqodi and company staged the sit-in, they are yet to be shown the report. It is not yet known if the committee is in possession of such a report. 

Meanwhile, Pacofs appears to be rolling out a number of productions and shows in the near future, featuring some local and national acts, like Steve Hofmeyr, as well as comedians Mpho Popps Modikoane and David Kau, among a long list of others. Nqodi, who also directed one or two small shows at the centre, following the demonstration, says the issue was centred on how Pacofs was run and not a lack of opportunities per se. A 2018 investigative report by forensic auditing firm, Morar Incorporated, found Xaba guilty of wrongdoing with respect to the organisation of a gospel festival that was pitched to the centre by a local artist. This "wrongdoing" includes the favourable treatment of a Pacofs council member being roped into the show. 

Xaba ascended to the role of CEO, albeit on a temporary basis, in November of 2020, when the then CEO of Pacofs, Peter Pedlar, was suspended pending an investigation into his conduct. Pedlar joined the troubled centre in 2019 amidst expectations that he would turn around the institution.

OFM News/Olebogeng Motse and Kekeletso Mosebetsi